Broken Promises
by misakinadeshiko
Summary: Father and son part, knowing it will be an eternity before they see each other again. A thank-you/early birthday present for Tsukiko Yamshita. My first fanfic, so please review!


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"Remember that no matter what happens in life, keep moving forward and never give up on your friends." ~slifertheskydragon

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The little boy sat up suddenly, slightly disoriented from the abrupt awakening. He looked out the window overlooking most of the room. Although he could see the pale sapphire sky, it wasn't bright enough to be able to make out the distant shapes outside his house. The boy stifled a yawn, and rubbed his eyes. Looking over his shoulder, when he saw that his clock read

5:30 AM

he groaned. Ordinarily the boy would have been asleep until his mother forced him awake at eleven, just before his favorite Saturday morning cartoons. So what had caused him to wake up so early?

He noticed a low rumbling noise that seemed to come from outside, and assumed that it was the cause of his rude awakening. He pulled back the covers, and was just about to go back to sleep when a dark shadow glided past the corner of his eye. _Somebody else is awake! He's sneaking around the house while Mommy and Daddy and Ji-san are asleep! Is he a robber?_ he thought. Deciding to investigate, the boy crept out of bed, and (carefully avoiding the sea of toys strewn all over the floor from yesterday's playtime) he selected a squeaky hammer from his messy inventory and quietly followed the shadow.

Downstairs, he saw the shadow as it reached the counter near the entrance, laden with the latest merchandise that had arrived there last night. The boy braced himself, ready to whack the life out of the shadow with his hammer lest it steal the new items. However, the shadow didn't seem to notice the vulnerable boxes. It even ignored the expensive-looking vases the boy's mother had bought while on their last vacation. All it seemed to see was the glass covered door.

The door swung open, bells sweetly chiming their morning anthem. In the early morning light, the boy saw that the shadow was a tall figure dressed in a formal steel-gray business suit, the matching fedora covering golden spikes of hair. With suitcase in hand, the figure made its way to a bright yellow taxi, which was issuing out the same rumbling noise that had woken the boy from sleep. To the boy, the figure had an air of familiarity about him...

"Daddy?"

The boy's father turned around, startled at the quiet voice. "Hey there, squirt! Whatcha doing up so early?" he asked. "Did I wake you?"

"You're going far away to work again, aren't you Daddy?" The boy's voice shook with accusation. "You just got home! Why do you have to go?!"

"Ebi-chan..." Kneeling on the ground, the father gently patted his son's head. "You know how important my work is. I mean, where do you think you got all your toys?"

"But do you have to keep leaving?" Tears threatened to pour down Ebi's face.

"Don't worry, Ebi. I'll come back before your birthday! How does that sound?"

"Really? You will?"

"Come on, squirt! Of course I will, this is your birthday we're talking about! You said you wanted DuelMonsters cards, right?"

Ebi's face lit up at his father's words. "DuelMonsters?! You're amazing, Daddy!!" His father chuckled, highly amused at his son bouncing around in excitement. "By the way..." he pointed at the hammer in his son's hand. "What's with the Pow Hammer? You weren't going to smack me with that, were you?"

Slightly ashamed, Ebi blushed deep scarlet. "I thought you were a robber, so I followed you Daddy," he explained. "I didn't think you'd be leaving again." The tears came again, and this time Ebi couldn't hold back. "Daddy...will you really come back?"

"I promise I'll come back, Ebi. You can count on that." His father reached into his pocket and pulled out a small paper card. "Ebi, do you know who this is?" On the card was a picture of a young man dressed in a dark blue cloak, sitting in a meditative pose. A number of necklaces were strung around his neck, and his hair was concealed by a demonic-looking spiral of a hat, red orbs suspended from golden knives. A pair of matching blue guillotines completed his appearnce. "This is Maha Vailo, one of the spellcasters in DuelMonsters. This card is a lot like you, Ebi."

"Like me? But it doesn't look strong at all! How can it be like me?"

"It may not look like a strong card but..." he pointed at the miniature card text. "It has a special power. Under certain conditions, Maha Vailo can become stronger than many of the best cards." His sparkling eyes locked with his son's. "Like Maha Vailo, you have potential, Ebi. Potential to be strong without me, to be the best in the world. It doesn't matter if it's DuelMonsters or real life, I believe in you and I know you can be the best duelist...no, the best person in the world." He stepped into the waiting taxi. "Be strong, Ebi. Be strong enough to protect everyone dear to you. And most of all, don't ever give up, not on your dreams, not on your friends, not ever." He beamed a warm smile at Ebi. "You can do that for me, right?"

The door slammed shut, and Ebi's father gradually grew smaller and smaller in his son's eyes. Ebi looked on, his tears cascading down his face. Maybe, if he ran after the car long enough, his father would always stay with him...pushing that thought away, Ebi cried out after his father, ignoring the resounding barks from the neighbors' dog.

"I'll do it, Daddy!! I'll protect everyone, Mommy and Ji-san and you and everyone!! I'll be the best in DuelMonsters!! I'll be the King of Games!! And you're gonna see me be King!! Just come back again, like you promised!!" Furiously waving his arms to make himself visible, Ebi looked back at his father one last time, squinting in the sunlight.

The car was almost gone from his line of sight, but he could just barely make out his father, close to laughing and waving a hand back in acknowledgement.

Yugi never heard from his father ever since.

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Notes:

-"Ebi" means "shrimp" in Japanese. ;D

-The Pow Hammer is from Tales of Symphonia.


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